1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus and a program for controlling a computer such as a digital mixer capable of storing a plurality of scenes.
2. Description of Related Art
A digital mixer has been conventionally known which is capable of storing a plurality of scenes or scene selecting events which are contained in automatic data utilized in automixing.
A scene as mentioned above means the whole contents of settings in a digital mixer (or it may be a part thereof), and more specifically, means the contents of various settings such as input patch setting, output patch setting, setting of various input channels, setting of various output channels, setting of stereophonic output channels, setting of a monitor, and setting of a display, etc. In a conventional digital mixer, one of a plurality of scenes prepared in advance may be selected and recalled, so that the whole contents of settings of the selected scene can be set as the current setting of the digital mixer. Further, when one of a plurality of scenes is recalled, the conventional digital mixer can be controlled such that a part of the whole contents of settings of the digital mixer may be selectively omitted from the current setting of the digital mixer.
The above-mentioned automatic data contain a plurality of combinations of events and timing data of the events, and these combinations are stored in a memory in the order of events corresponding to earlier timing. In the reproduction of the automatic data, events are reproduced in timing indicated by the timing data. For example, when a fader operating event indicating a fader number and a fader position is reproduced, control is provided such that a fader designated by the fader number is electrically driven to a position designated by the fader position.
When a scene selecting event as mentioned above is reproduced, settings of a scene designated by the scene selecting event are reproduced on the digital mixer.
With such a digital mixer, settings of a certain scene are to be changed, the scene number is designated to recall the scene, and then various operations are performed on a mixer panel of the digital mixer to change the settings, and then the whole contents of the settings are saved by assigning some scene number thereto.
Now, a scene-saving process and a scene-recalling process in the conventional digital mixer will be described with reference to FIG. 12.
The conventional digital mixer is comprised of a random access memory (RAM) and a central processing unit (CPU), and the RAM is comprised of a plurality of scene saving areas for saving a plurality of prepared scenes, a current area for saving a scene that is used to control the current operation of the digital mixer, and an undo area for enabling the last operation related to a scene to be cancelled.
In the conventional digital mixer, when a user inputs an instruction for saving or storing a scene by designating a scene number, the CPU copies the scene which is stored in a scene saving area corresponding to the designated scene number, to the undo area, and then copies a scene then saved in the current area to the designated scene saving area.
An instruction for storing a scene in the undo area is not permitted.
When the user inputs an instruction for calling, i.e. recalling a scene by designating a scene number, the CPU copies a scene which is saved in the current area to the undo area, and then copies the scene which is saved in a scene saving area corresponding to the designated scene number, to the current area.
When the user inputs an instruction for undo operation, a scene which has been copied to the undo area in the last operation is returned to the original area, and processing reverse to the processing having been performed in the storing or recalling operation is carried out.
Also, an electronic musical instrument has been known which stores a plurality of tone color data, and performs a tone color selecting event, that is, an event for selecting tone color data for use in a piece of music from these tone color data.
However, in the conventional digital mixer as described above, there is a problem that, if a user switches the scene without carrying out a saving operation, the contents of settings in the current area that have been changed are completely lost by the switching. To solve this problem, some digital mixers include an undo buffer for saving the contents of settings immediately before the settings are changed. However, the number of possible undo operations is finite. Particularly in the case where automatic data is incorporated in the digital mixer such that a plurality of scenes are sequentially read out, a saving operation is required to be carried out for each scene, and consequently, an operation error can often occur in which the user fails to save intermediate scenes so that the contents of e changed settings are lost.
In a concert or a stage, the same piece of music may be played for several days, or in different halls or theaters, the same piece of music may be played. In such a case, it is a usual practice that fine adjustment of the contents of settings that have once been completed in a digital mixer (hereinafter referred to as “the original contents of settings”) is carried out to adapt them to the hall or the player. If such fine adjustment is repeated, complicated setting operations are required to restore the original contents of settings.
Also, in the above-mentioned conventional electronic instrument which performs the tone color selecting event, for example, if some tone color data is recalled to be edited and then the next tone color data is recalled without saving the previously edited tone color data, the edited tone color data is lost. Thus, there is the same problem as with the conventional digital mixer that the contents of the changed settings are lost.